Londoners Don’t Want Wi-Fi On The Underground

Earlier this week, the news broke that Virgin Media is to roll out free Wi-Fi on the London underground in time for the Olympics (for 80 stations, with a further expansion to 120 by the end of the year).

Mind you, it'll only be free to the general public until the Olympics is over (though Virgin broadband and mobile subscribers will continue to get free access).

At any rate, an argument now seems to be flaring up over whether any Wi-Fi, free or not, is a desirable thing to have on the tube. PC Advisor cited a survey conducted by My Voucher Codes which indicated that the majority of Londoners didn't want Wi-Fi at underground stations full-stop.

Some 950 denizens of the capital city were asked whether they were in favour of the underground Wi-Fi plans, and 55% said no.

Mark Pearson, chairman of My Voucher Codes, commented: "It's quite surprising to see the number of people who are against the introduction of Wi-Fi on the underground. I would've thought, particularly with the advances in the world of technology, that people would be happy to see the availability of the internet on the tube; making internet access more readily available in all aspects of everyday life."

So why aren't people keen on the scheme? Privacy is a big concern, with fears of security and passwords getting snooped. People cited theft as a worry, too, with the increase in usage of expensive gadgets on the tube.

However, there's a simple solution if you're worried about passwords, theft, or other issues - don't use your laptop or smartphone on the underground. The presence of Wi-Fi doesn't make it compulsory, as far as we're aware.